Achieving greater energy efficiency is crucial in all areas of our society.
This is also true in the tourism sector, where all operators, especially hotels, are committed to saving energy in their air-conditioning, lighting, hot water, and irrigation systems, and to offering services that combine sustainability, savings, and respect for the environment.
What are sustainable hotels?
The hotel sector is one of Spain's largest providers of employment and income, and also one of the largest contributors to the country's economy.
For this reason, its role in driving energy savings is essential.
This is especially true if we take into account that almost 60% of a hotel's carbon footprint stems from its energy use and accounts for between 6% and 10% of its costs.
On the one hand, sustainable hotels respect the environment that surrounds them, and on the other hand they implement policies to manage natural and energy resources more efficiently.
These policies are defined by the following three characteristics:
- Seeking to reduce their carbon footprint.
- Promoting a more sustainable tourism model.
- Raising awareness through the implementation of eco-friendly and zero waste initiatives.
These types of initiatives aren't only well received by a hotel's guests, but they also create a positive image among its employees and suppliers. Any improvement in this respect is associated with greater sustainability and can help them to stand out from their competitors.
In fact, according to the study "The greening of travel: embracing the responsibility" carried out in 2019 by the specialist consultancy SKIFT, 53% of travellers are willing to pay more to stay in hotels that are either sustainable or more environmentally committed.
What measures do sustainable hotels implement?
Some of the actions or measures that hotels can implement to improve their sustainability are:
- Using energy-saving lighting, replacing halogen lights and fluorescent tubes with LED technology.
- Installing energy-efficient air-conditioning systems that help to save energy and water, such as those using aerothermal energy, condensing boilers, etc.
- Installing solar panels to generate electricity cleanly and self-sufficiently.
- Reducing and managing energy costs by using energy-efficient appliances (energy classification A).
- Installing charging points for electric vehicles.
- Waste management and selective collection.
- Reducing waste and developing zero plastics policies.
- Using less polluting and/or biodegradable cleaning products.
Hotels VIVA's commitment to sustainability
Hotels VIVA are classed as sustainable hotels because they seek to reduce their carbon footprint, making improvements related to environmental commitment, social responsibility, and corporate awareness.
Furthermore, being located in some of the most beautiful natural areas of Mallorca means that the hotel chain's facilities are particularly respectful of the surrounding areas, as well as being committed to managing their natural and energy resources more efficiently.
Electric vehicle chargers
As part of our commitment to sustainability, we have installed several charging stations for electric vehicles in our VIVA Cala Mesquida, VIVA Blue & Spa, VIVA Sunrise, VIVA Golf and VIVA Cala Mesquida Suites and Spa hotels.
They are simple to use: simply charge your electric vehicle using the same RFID card that you open your room with.
If you bring your own electric vehicle or rent one during your holidays in Mallorca, there will always be a charging point at your disposal.
Solar panels
Being on an island like Mallorca, with more than 300 days of sunshine a year, we simply couldn’t afford to neglect this precious natural resource.
For this reason, and as part of our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint and the impact of our business operations as much as possible, we are developing a project to install solar panels in all our facilities.
To date, our hotels VIVA Blue & Spa and VIVA Suites already generate 154 Kwp, which amounts to a saving of 107 tonnes of CO₂ per year and an overall reduction in the level of CO₂ emissions of around 7% per year in electricity alone.
Our objective is to gradually implement these initiatives in all the hotels in our chain, with the aim of becoming more sustainable and energy self-sufficient.
